AJK govt asked to fulfil PM’s promise of restoring MDA’s allotted plots

MUZAFFARABAD, Mirpur: The Jammu Kashmir Government should immediately announce the restoration of 11,000 plots allotted by the Mirpur Development Authority (MDA) in Mirpur Azad Jammu Kashmir and the hamlets under its jurisdiction as promised by AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq.

These views were expressed by the Chairman of Real Estate Azad Jammu Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Rasheed, General Secretary Khawaja Shehzad Lone, former Assembly candidate Muhammad Arif, opposition leader in the Mirpur Municipal Corporation, Councillor Abdul Razak, Councillor Raja Taslim Anjum, Chauhary Arshad Mehmood, President Mirpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Syed Sabir Hussain Shah, Malik Muhammad Akbar, Ijaz Mir, Aamir Butt, Syed Ifthar Shah, Ishtiaq Ahmed Mughal, Farrukh Dar, Aslam Gujjar, Malik Sajid Awan, Taj Din Advocate at a press conference on Wednesday.

Local and overseas Kashmiris from the Mirpur district expressed their concerns over the alleged destruction of their investments through a conspiracy to revoke previously allotted plots. The promise made by AJK Prime Minister Ch. Anwarul Haq regarding the revival of these plots has not been fulfilled, they claim.

Thousands of overseas Kashmiris, particularly those residing in the UK, have invested in Mirpur by purchasing these plots. Many have constructed residential and commercial buildings on these plots over the past 30 to 40 years, following all legal procedures and obtaining necessary approvals from the MDA.

They accused elected representatives from the Mirpur district of neglecting the issue of plot revival and demanded that AJK Prime Minister Ch Anwarul Haq announce the restoration of the plots before his next visit to the region. Additionally, they called for an end to the vandalism of MDA maps and the withdrawal of all irrelevant and unfair local taxes. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, President of the Real Estate Organisation, and Khawaja Shehzad Lone, Secretary General, emphasised the need to resume development works in all existing housing sectors of the MDA. They pointed out that the Authority has already received development charges during the allotment of these plots under the prevailing rules.

Referring to the current alleged poor financial conditions of the MDA, they said that MDA was once a prosperous organisation, but it has been destroyed, because of, what they alleged were the bad to worse fluctuated policies of all managements. Both the leaders of the real estate community questioned, saying, “If the abandoned ill-fated plots are not restored, who will be responsible for this dilemma faced by the legal allottees”.

“All segments of civil society, social and political quarters and property dealers of Mirpur will be constrained to protest strongly. The State government should be moved to solve this heated problem of the citizens of Mirpur on a priority basis - which, they added, can also be very helpful for the survival of the MDA getting rid of the prevailing financial crunch”, they said.